Wildlife Park

My in-laws have been in town visiting this week, and since they don't live in our state, we wanted to show them around a bit.  There aren't that many things to do in our area....especially when the temperature is as sweltering as it's been lately.  But, we decided to brave the weather and check out a local Wildlife Sanctuary.  All the animals in the wildlife park are native to my state, and have either been born in captivity or injured in the wild.  Either way, they can't be released, and so, the state has provided a learning center, free of charge, to the public.  It's sort of like a mini-zoo.

Jane loved every bit of it, of course.  One of the first things we saw was a black bear.

The poor fellow had the right idea about the weather.  What were we doing out there walking around in the heat.  We should have been lounging in the shade like this guy.

But, no, we walked the paths on our way to discover more about Kentucky's wildlife.

We learned an interesting fact about Bison.  They had a special ability to choose the most easily traversed route when moving across the landscape.  Because of this, the old Bison paths often became highways or interstates once people started settling across the country.  You never know when you might be driving down an old Bison trail!

One of Jane's favorite parts of the day was visiting the Dragonfly Marsh.

Here she is showing her daddy all of the colorful dragonflies.  I couldn't catch the quick little things on film, but their colors were vivid and they looked like little flying jewels with the sun glinting off of them.

This little trail was awfully inviting.  I LOVE the woods.  But, we decided to save it for a cooler day...maybe in the Autumn?  I can't wait to find out where it leads.

The Bobcats also had the right idea about napping in the shade.

Here's a slightly closer view of one of the wildcats.  Doesn't he have beautiful fur, and those pointy little ears are so darling!

A lot of the nature preserve was devoted to fish and game. 

There were many kinds of local fish in aquariums to ooh and awe over.

They had a special exhibit on reptiles and amphibians, with lots of snakes, lizards, turtles and frogs.

Jane was even brave enough to pet a snake.  But the highlight of the day for her was when she got to hold a salamander!!  He was actually VERY cute and docile. 

Finally, we stopped to smell a few flowers, and then headed back to the shaded comfort of our home, where, incidentally.....we all took naps.